


We are what we are (but we don't have to be)

by AvatarQuake



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: 'your parents are extremely overprotective and hired me to be your bodyguard', Alternate Universe, F/M, I still hate writing too many characters, based off, but I still do it, if you like Lincoln maybe don't read this, it derailed from there, it was supposed to be a prompt fic, the prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 05:39:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6316780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvatarQuake/pseuds/AvatarQuake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Phil Coulson has done a lot of things for SHIELD, but pretending to be someone's bodyguard was new."<br/>When the daughter of Inhuman leader and ambassator Jiaying Johnson is threatened, Director Fury sends one of his best agents to protect her. What follows, changes history.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Johnsons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zauberer_sirin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zauberer_sirin/gifts), [Skyepilot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/gifts).



> and agentelderofshield on Tumblr  
> Accumulated theories from Tumblr, derailed a prompt and tah-dah!  
> Title from Fall Out Boy 'Immortals'.

The Johnson family is a very important family of, mostly, Inhumans. Jiaying Johnson acts like an ambassator of sorts for the Inhumans, due to her power – or so is the rumor, she never revealed what she can do due to it making her uncomfortable – and her position as their leader.

Phil Coulson was assigned to them as their daughter's bodyguard, when someone tried to take her.

“Sir, are you sure I am the right person for this?” Phil doubted this was the type of assignement he should be taking, even after New York's near death experience.

“Yes, Coulson, I am sure. I want my best eye to be there. Jiaying Johnson is an important figure, especially after New York.” Fury said.

“Yes, sir.”

“This is not Tony Stark, Coulson. You're not doing babysitting here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Go. You'll be taken to their residence and you'll stay with them until the threat is eliminated. Be her shadow.”

“Yes, sir.”

Phil Coulson has done a lot of things for SHIELD, but pretending to be someone's bodyguard was new. He can understand the logic of choosing him; he doesn't look dangerous and possible attackers would make the mistake to take the chance.

The Johnson residence is not what he expected. He thought they lived in some grand house with a huge garden, stuff you see in a TV show – and he admits he's watched one or two – or stuff you see in Stark's.

It was big enough for a family, two stories and a back garden.

Calvin Johnson welcomed him, giving him a distrusting look.

“Mr. Johnson, I'm Agent Coulson. I was assigned to be your daughter's bodyguard.” he said warily.

A woman walked out of the living room and came closer.

“Cal.” she said softly. “Agent Coulson, I am Jiaying. Please, come in.”

Coulsom came inside, following the couple to the living room.

“Director Fury said he'd send his best. You already met my husband, Cal. I am sorry, he is protective about our daughter.”

“As a father should be.” he said, nodding at Cal.

“I don't like you. How do we know you can protect her?” Cal asked.

“Looks can be deceiving, Mr. Johnson. And it is my mission to keep her safe. I'd die before I fail a mission.” he said, seriously.

“We'd rather you didn't die.” Jiaying said.

“If I may, where is your daughter?”

Jiaying sighed.

“She wasn't amused with the prospect of a bodyguard.”

“Is it ok if I talked to her?”

“Yes, please.” Jiaying nodded. “She's in the last room to your left.”

Phil nodded and climbed up the stairs to the second floor. Once he reached the room in question he knocked on the door.

“Go away!” a voice called out.

“I really can't. My job is to make sure no one tries to attack you again.” he said.

Daisy Johnson had taken an extensive me-time in her old – current – bedroom and really wasn't in a mood to talk to anyone. She could protect herself, her beating the wanna-be abducter was proof enough. But that didn't mean she wasn't shaken and she didn't want anyone to take pity on her.

But the man outside had really soothing vibrations and his voice matched them.

She sighed.

“'S open.” she said.

The door opened and a middle-aged guy was standing there, looking at her levitating herself over her bed.

She smiled a little at his open admiration.

“You're soothing.” she told him.

Phil blinked, confused.

“Your vibrations.” she explained. “I'm Daisy.”

“Agent Coulson.”

“A.C. Got a name, or should I keep the nickname?”

Phil shrugged.

“Phil, but do as you're most comfortable.” he replied with a small smile. “How are you doing that?”

“Vibrating the atoms of the air around my body to push me upwards.”

“Cool.” he smiled.

Daisy stared at him for a moment, then blinked.

“You really think this is cool.” she said.

Phil frowned.

“Of course. Why, met someone who didn't think it's cool?”

“Something like that.”

“Can I come in?” he asked.

Suddenly, they both noticed he hadn't moved from the door.

“Can I try something on you?”

“I suppose.” he shrugged a little.

Daisy reached her hand out and concentrated both around herself and around Phil. His surprised, delighted cry told her she had succedded on one part of the test. She opened her eyes and saw him raised off the ground.

“Don't move.” she said.

Phil nodded. This was amazing. He thought he'd have a difficult time with this assignment, but Daisy Johnson seemed to be very interesting. And this, experiencing her powers and what she could do with them...He was probably buying some good liquor for Fury when this ended.

He slowly felt his body move, slide through the air towards Daisy and he smiled up at her.

“You're really excited by this.” she said amused.

“Who wouldn't be?”

“Those who tried to kidnap me.”

“They're idiots.” he shrugged.

“And you seem too calm to be near so many people with powers.”

“I've been up close to gifted people before.” he shrugged. “Was even in New York, before the battle started.”

“Why not during?”

“Loki stabbed me through the heart. Spent way too much time in the infirmary.”

“Wait. You know the Avengers?”

“Yeah.” he smiled proudly.

“That's cool.” Daisy said, her eyes wide. “Now you've got to share stories. So...spill.”

Phil grinned and started telling her about meeting the Avengers. And she asked a lot about the security systems Stark was using, how Hawkeye and Black Widow were like, about Thor and Norse mythology, if Captain America had issues with the new technology and if Dr. Banner really had been helping people in Mongolia.

“How do you know that?” Phil asked.

“Oh, right. I used to be with the Rising Tide. Then I heard Miles took money to do a hack and most of us left. Well, me and Micro did. I don't think many staid afterwards.”

“You were a hacker?”

“Yep. I'm actually a computer programmer. Got my degree and all, was planning to go freelance, give out some contact cards and what not.”

“No, the Tide crashed on rocks after Mr.Lydon's...betryal.” Coulson confirmed. “When this all ends, how would you feel working with me?”

“What, in SHIELD?”

“Yeah. Though, I think that isn't going to be met with enthusiam from your dad.” he amended.

“He didn't like you?” she asked amused.

“No. I fear he thinks my role here is...”

“To take over?” Daisy grinned.

“Uh...Possibly?”

Daisy snorted and stood up.

“Well, since you'll be around me, your room is the one next to mine.”

“What do you usually do?”

“My routine?” Phil nodded. “Depends on the mood. Usually out for coffee at the evenings, before I lock myself in to work on a programm. I ran in the mornings and practice my powers.” she said. “I understand you're gonna be shadowing me around.”

Phil gave her a small, apologetic smile.

“I'm sorry.” he said. “It's somewhat uncomfortable, I understand.”

“Well, as I said, your vibrations are soothing, so I won't have a problem having you around.”

Phil stood up and walked out, Daisy following him and then leading him to his new room. It was a plain guest room and Phil felt more at home here than at previous temporary lodgings.

“Oh, wow. Haven't felt someone be so at peace in a guest room.” Daisy mumbled beside him.

“Uh, sorry. Used to bunks and hotels and even cars. Sometimes there's no time for sleep. This is a lot like home. It's a bit...” he moved his hands around, unable to find the right word.

“Ah. You got any luggage? Or do you sleep in your suit?”

“I'll bring some clothes tomorrow. Today was mostly to meet you and make sure the house is secure.” he said.

“And?”

“The house is secure. And you are an interesting person. It is nice knowing you.” he smiled.

 


	2. The mission

True to his word, the next morning he came back with a duffel bag.

“Hey, Phil.” she greeted him, as she opened the door.

“Good morning.” he smiled as he entered.

“Ah, Agent Coulson. Good day.” Jiaying walked in the living room to shake his hand. “You must excuse me; I was called to Afterlife. Cal's already at the clinic.”

“Of course.” he nodded. “Director Fury asked me to tell you he'd like to speak with you on your earlier convinience.”

“Yes, thank you.” she nodded. “Gordon.”

Suddenly a man with no eyes appeared inside the house.

“Jiaying, Daisy.” he bowed his head to the two women, Daisy rolling her eyes at it.

“Stop doing that, Gordon. No head-bowing for me, _please_.” she stretched out.

“Who is the human?”

“Agent Phil Coulson. I am here to make sure no one tries to attack miss Johnson again.” Phil reached to give his hand.

Gordon stared at him.

“It was a human who tried to attack Daisy. Your kind. How can you expect us to trust you?”

“Gordon.” Daisy growled, as stuff in the house rattled. “I don't like your tone.”

“The Elders requested you let an Inhuman protect you.” Gordon said.

“No, they suggested _Lincoln_ and he is as boring as a non gifted person. Besides, he was trying to hit on me last time I saw him. His vibrations set me on edge, too.” Daisy said. “And...Coulson's are soothing.”

“Daisy...It would be in your benefit to...” Jiaying started.

“Mom. I don't have your powers. If I chose a normal guy, we'd be perfectly fine.” she sighed. “Tell the Elders that I am way too old for them to arrange me partners.”

Phil was standing there, swifting awkwardly in his position.

“Um...I need to...” he waved his bag lightly. “I'm sorry.”

Daisy took his arm and guided him up to his room.

“Sorry about that. They had stopped bugging me about this ages ago. The attack had the Elders reverting back to something I shot out of the sky five years ago.” she shook her head.

“It's fine.” he said.

“No, it's not. Mom shouldn't have let it go on.” she sighed.

She laid down on his bed and started vibrating the matress to relax.

“What are you doing?” he asked amused.

“Come here.” she patted the space beside her. “This is relaxing.”

“Laying down generally is.”

“Phil. Come here.” she ordered.

“Yes, ma'am.” he chuckled.

“And don't you dare 'miss Johnson' me again.”

He chuckled as he sat down on the bed, but his laughter turned to a sigh once he felt the vibrations on the bed.

“Oh, that _is_ relaxing.” he agreed.

Daisy smiled beside him.

“Come on. I'm usually training around now, in the backyard. You can get settled in later.” she said, letting the vibrations fade away.

“Okay.” he nodded and sat up, following Daisy back down and out.

After making sure that the yard was clear and no one was too curious he settled near the door assuming defensive position.

Daisy started her calming excersises, listening to the world around her, feeling the different vibrations and concentrating on different ones individually or all of them simultaneously.

Phil stood away, trying not to be in her way, while he admired her discipline.

(And mayde admired _her_ and how in-tune she seemed to be with the world.)

Daisy smiled a little.

Cal still didn't like having Phil in his house and Jiaying was a little withdrawn. Apparently, him being here didn't sit well with the Elders either and Fury wasn't backing out from his call to have him stationed there.

“ _A human tried to harm an Inhuman. Pardon me if I take it personally and want to catch the bastard.”_ he had said.

Most of his time, he spends it with Daisy. Either training with her – because he _was_ distracting her after all – or walking around the city with her, looking like the bodyguard he was supposed to be.

Daisy groaned one evening, as the two of them had elected to stay in, instead of going out with Cal and Jiaying.

“I miss my house...!” she said.

“I'm sorry.” Phil said, looking apologetically at her from across the room.

“Stop apologising, Phil. You didn't send the guy to attack me and you can't control when or if they'll try again.” she said, giving up and laying on the couch. “By the way, do you know who tried to grab me?”

“No, but the Director has his suspisions.” Phil shrugged.

“Did he tell you or are you not at liberty to discuss?”

“Director Fury doesn't always share his thoughts. You learn to roll with it. More often than not, his hunches pay off.” he shrugged.

Daisy groaned.

“I wouldn't be able to work with him.” she said. “I want to know what I am doing and why.”

Phil smiled.

He got up and went to the kitchen and started working on something. Daisy looked over at him from the couch and not too long after, the smell of grilled cheese wafted out from the kitchen.

“What are you doing?”

“Making us a snack.” he replied. “Besides, if you worked for SHIELD, it'd be most probable you'd be under my direct orders, rather than the Director's.”

“That wouldn't be too bad. I could totally have you spill all the mission secrets to me.” she smirked.

Phil chuckled and brought a tray with two plates and two glasses of milk.

“There you go.” he said.

They ate in a comfortable silence.

“Mmm. That was the best grilled cheese I've eaten.”

“It's a secret recipe. Don't ask – I will not disclose.”

Daisy laughed.

Of course shit happens at that moment. He can tell something is off, because Daisy tenses for a split second and that's all he needs to fling himself to her and shove them both down and behind the couch as shots are fired.

In seconds, he's up and running after the attacker, firing after the black car.

Daisy has disappeared and Coulson panics, because she is in his care, but then her van appears and Daisy is right there and ;

“GET IN!” she's shouting.

He doesn't think about it, flinging himself at the passenger seat, as they run after the attacker.

“This is Agent Coulson. We have movement. I am in pursuit, could use backup.” he says to a radio.

“ _You sound like a bad cop movie, Coulson._ ” a voice says with a teasing tone. “ _Bodyguarding doesn't become you._ ”

“Barton, get Romanoff and move your ass off the roof you've perched yourself on now, or I will demote you back to Level 1.” he growled.

“ _Easy there, boss. What happened?_ ” Barton asked. “ _You don't threaten demotion, unless..._ ” he paused. “ _Is she ok?_ ”

“Yeah.” Phil sighed, aware Daisy was listening in on them. “Just...you two, get here.”

“ _Coulson._ ” a female voice came up.

“ _Oi, Nat!_ ” Barton called from the back.

“Romanoff. Thank God there is a sane one among you two.” he smirks a little.

“ _I heard that!_ ” Barton called out.

“ _Johnson. Is he hurt?_ ” Romanoff asked, ignoring everyone else.

“No. No, he is fine.” Daisy said immediatelly.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Phil mumbled dryly beside her.

“ _Last time you were in the field, we spent ten days thinking you died._ ” Romanoff said dryly.

“ _Yeah. I thought I_ killed _you, boss._ ” Barton chimed in.

“Wait. Barton and Romanoff? Hawkeye and Black Widow? _Seriously_?!” Daisy cut in.

“Left.” Phil navigated, avoiding the question.

“ _Oooh, you're a fan?_ ” Barton sounded amused.

“Barton.”

“ _We're right behind you, Phil._ ” the other man said.

“Keep driving.” he instructed Daisy. “Take the next turn and then stop. Better not let them know we're here.” he sighed.

“Those were some really quick reflexes.” Daisy commented. “How did you know?”

“You tensed.” he sighed. “My job is to keep you alive.”

“What do we do now?”

“Wait. Make sure they don't drive away. Barton and Romanoff are going in, make sure we catch whoever was after you.”

Suddenly a phone ringed. They both jumped and looked at each other, before Daisy realized it was hers.

“Oh. It's mum.” she said. “Mum? Yeah, I'm ok. Phil got me out. Yeah. We're...hiding. He send the Black Widow and Hawkeye to track the attacker. I'll be fine. I can sense them coming and he has pretty quick reflexes, we'll survive.” she said softly. “Yeah. We'll be back home once we know.” a pause. “What did dad say?” she asked amused. “Yeah, ok. Tell him I'll tell Phil. Bye.”

“What did Mr.Johnson wanted me to know?”

“You didn't get his permision to take me out on a date.” she snorted. “But he'll let it slide this time, since you protected me.”

Phil choked.

“... _Date_...?”

Daisy patted his arm.

“For what it's worth, dad approves of you now.” she grinned.

“ _Jesus._ ” he mumbled resting his head on the dash.

 


	3. Aftermath

They returned home in the morning, after Romanoff dropped by the van to tell them it was HYDRA and that at least this cell was taken in for questioning and imprisonment. That it should be safe for now.

“Daisy.” Jiaying breathed out, hugging her daughter, once they entered.

Phil sat on a chair and sighed, giving the family space, only for Cal to walk over and rest a hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you.” he said. “For taking care of her.”

“It's my job. And...Daisy's become one of my dearest friends. I couldn't not do something to keep her safe.” Phil saidy, shaking his head a little.

“I didn't like you. I still don't. But you care for her.” he said.

“Humans and Inhumans...it's not advised to date.” Jiaying said.

“But we're not.” Daisy said.

“Nope. We're friends.” Phil agreed.

“You look at her like Cal used to look at me, Agent Coulson.” Jiaying said. “Like he still does.”

“I do?” Phil looked a little surprised at that.

“He does?” Daisy asked at the same time.

They looked at each other and then shrugged.

“Now what happens with you and your post?” Daisy asked Coulson.

Phil shrugged a little.

“Wait for new orders. See if I'm needed here any longer, if they didn't get the mastermind behind the attacks.”

“Well, until then, how good are you at barbeque?” Cal smirked from beside him.

They were eating when the call came; Phil was to return to HQ, as they apparently had caught whomever it was that was targetting Daisy Johnson.

“Will I be seeing you around?” Daisy asked that evening, as he packed his bag.

Phil pulled out a card, wrote down a number and handed it to her.

“That's my personal phone number.” he said. “If you feel like you want to get a coffee someday...” he shrugged.

“Cool. I'll call you.” she smiled, waving his card.

“I'd like that.” he smiled softly.

She walked him to the door, where Cal and Jiaying were waiting.

“Agent Coulson.” Jiaying spoke up. “Thank you for the time and for looking out for Daisy.” she shook his hand.

“Phil.” Cal smiled. “I still don't like you. But you're not too bad.” he said.

“You're welcome?” Phil frowned, shaking his hand, too.

Daisy snickered beside him.

“Take care, AC.” she said, pulling him in a hug.

“You, too, _D_.” he smirked, hugging her back.

A knock broke them apart.

Daisy opened to see Romanoff and a blonde-haired man.

“Agents Romanoff, Barton?” Daisy greeted the woman.

“I'm Clint.” the man said brightly.

“ _Barton._ ” Phil stepped beside Daisy. “Why are you two here?”

“Since we're called back, too, we thought, maybe a night out with old friends...?” the archer shrugged. “New friends are welcome to join, of course.”

Daisy smirked up at him. He sighed and turned to the so-far silent parents.

“Permision to take Daisy out?” he asked Cal.

The doctor grinned.

“You're funny.” he told Phil. “You should keep him.” he told Daisy.

Barton crowed from outside.

“Permision granted.” he gave him a look. “Don't do anything... _naughty_.” he added.

Phil spluttered, blushing – _he was blushing now? Jeez._ – at the suggestion, while Daisy was laughing hard and Barton was crying his eyes out. Only Romanoff stared at the scene with amazing calmness. He was going to ask Fury to either promote her or give her a raise when he saw next the man.

“You can store your bag in our car.” Romanoff said. “We'll bring Daisy home.” she promised Jiaying.

The outing was full with embarrassing stories about him, as Barton saw fit to recount all of his ' _moments of shame_ ', as Andrew told him Melinda had called them. What made the sting lighter was the ringing laughter of Daisy beside him.

“So, the worst thing this man has ever done was playing dead for a year, after the battle of New York.” Clint said.

“Fury told me not to tell anyone, especially you two.” Phil said, in defence.

“And how did you find out?”

“Fury told us when he desided to send him to protect you. We are the only ones of the Avengers to know.” Nat said.

“No dying and hiding for a year from me, you hear?” Daisy turned to him, serious.

“I'll do my best. I promise.” he said, as seriously.

They returned her home close to midnight – ' _We have quite a way to go._ ' Clint had said. – and then went on their way.

 


	4. A month later

It hadn't been a month later, when Daisy – finally able to ease her parents' worried nerves and rent a small appartment in the city – found herself talking to a guy in the cafe she haunted.

“So, John, what are you doing for a living?”

“I'm in-between jobs at the moment.” he said with a clearly fake smile. “What are you waiting for?”

Daisy wanted to grit her teeth – his vibrations were so bad, she wanted to vibrate him out of the cafe.

“A friend. He's running a little late, the dork.” she smiled at a memory. Suddenly, she picked on his vibrations and turned her head to see him enter. She waved her hand.

Before Phil could make two steps, 'John' got up and left.

Daisy stared at his retreating back and felt Phil's hand on her shoulder.

“Daisy?” he asked a little worried.

“I think they are still after me, Phil.” she said.

“The man who just left, what name did he give you?”

“John.” she said. “His vibrations, oh God, I wanted to shove him out of the cafe.”

“Grant Ward. He was a HYDRA double agent, until the reveal. Then he went dark, possily joined HYDRA. It seems they put him on you.” he said, with a frown.

“More time spent with you, then?”

“Possibly.” he nodded. “How are you?”

“Oh, here.” she passed him a card. “I finally opened my electronic office.” she grinned.

“Well done. I can pass word to Director Fury, make you one of our assets.”

“Associated with SHIELD. Should I put that on my resume?” she smirked.

“Better not. I wouldn't hear the end of it.” Phil smirked back.

The evening passed, both enjoying each other's company, catching up with what they've been doing.

“Be a decent guy and escort me home?” she teased him, as they got ready to leave.

His only reply was to give her his arm.

Giggling, Daisy wrapped hers around it.

They walked out of the cafe and down the road, Phil keeping an eye out for tails. Daisy noticed; he was tense, his vibrations were reflacting his worry and cautiousness.

She laid a hand across his back and gently let the vibrations calm him.

“Oh.” he says softly, pausing for a moment to feel it.

“You were tense.” she said quietly.

“I am worried for you. I know you can look after yourself, probably better than what I can do, but...”

“Thank you, Phillip.” she smiled warmly at him.

He turned and hugged her tightly. Then, they kept walking to her home.

“Do you want to come upstairs?” she asked.

“I...”

“Hey, I'm not asking for _that_. Just sit and chat some more. Or make sure no one's going to attack me while I'm sleeping.”

“Yeah, I'd like that. Chat.” he said, a little amused. “If you want me to make sure no one'll attack you, I'll have to sleep on your couch.”

“I've got a perfectly functioning guest room. No need to hurt your back on the couch.” she smiled.

Phil chuckled.

“Thank you, but I got a mission briefing tomorrow noon.”

“Stay safe.”

“Hey, I'm not going out on a mission.”

Daisy shrugged, as she opened the door to her appartment and led him to the kitchen.

“Want some chocolate?” she waved the can of the beverage.

“Why not?” he agreed. “How's your job?” he asked playing her card in his hands.

“Most of the calls are for security upgrades and stuff. There was the one call about an editting program. It's quite interesting writing code and creating programs. Helping people that get in trouble while navigating through Internet.” she said. “You know, SHIELD could do with a system update.” she frowned.

“What you got in mind?”

“HYDRA spent so much time in, they know how to crack the codes. Let me throw mine in the mix and they'll be stuck and stumped.” she grinned, passing him his mug.

“Are you sure they haven't got their hands on one of your programs?”

“Not all of my codes and programs are for the public. I have a couple of tricks for personal use that are for close friends and me.”

Phil smiled.

“And SHIELD is close friends?”

“You, Nat and Clint are.” Daisy shrugged, a small smile on her lips.

“How about I brought you in tomorrow? Have Nat be with you at Communications and help you as you upgrade the systems?” he asked.

“That means you're crashing at my guest room?” she asked back.

“Yeah. Maybe I should. Ward was trying to monitor you. Better safe than sorry, right?”

“Yep.” she stood up. “Come on. Let's watch a movie. Oh! That's the bathroom, the guest room and that's my room.” she pointed the rooms as they passed.

They settled down at the couch and Daisy opened the TV to some action movie that had been already playing.

Little before it ended, Daisy nodded off on his shoulder and Phil looked at her surprised. He wasn't really used to people trusting him this much, to allow themselves to sleep by his side, outside of a mission. It was new, but also normal.

He carefully carried her to her bedroom. A quick glance told him it was also were she worked, as on the desk by the window was her laptop and pages of codes were on the wall beside it. It was a light blue shade, reminding him of the early morning sky. He smiled and tucked her in.

He woke up before her and prepared their coffees and a light breakfast. Daisy walked in a few moments after he was finished.

“'Morning, Phil.” she greeted through a yawn. “You didn't have to.” she said as she noticed the breakfast.

“You let me stay the night. I wanted to thank you.” he smiled.

“You're really sweet.” she smiled back, pressing a kiss on his cheek. She looked up at him and looked at him softly. “You don't get kissed often, do you?” she said.

“Ah, no. I...” he was blushing again, he knew it. “It's been a while.” he admitted.

Daisy nodded her head, as if she knew what that was like.

“Their loss.”

“I kinda can't tell most I am alive.”

“The Avengers?”

“They found out. Stark hacks our system every day out of boredom.” he said.

“And you let him?”

“Trust me, JARVIS is trying to keep the hacking to the minimum.”

“I'd like to see him try to get past me.” Daisy said, a gleam in her eyes, at the thought of being challenged by Stark's AI.

“Ready?”

“No, give me a moment.” she darted back into her room, a piece of grllied cheese in her mouth.

Ten minutes later she was exiting, dressed, hair combed, and light make-up applied.

“Now we can go.” she grinned.

He led her to his car and after checking it for bugs, he started it up.

“This is amazing. You look after her, don't you?” she said, running her hand over her door.

“Yeah, I do. I call her Lola.” he smirked.

Daisy smiled, and patted the dash.

“Hello, Lola. I'm Daisy.” she said. “You make sure Phil doesn't crash anywhere, don't you, girl?” she asked, looking at Phil sideways.

He sincerely hoped she couldn't tell how hot he found that, because then he would be in serious trouble.

He didn't know he wanted Daisy to like his car before he saw her looking at the red corvette and running her fingers over it.

They reached base in a few minutes.

“Agent Coulson.” a female voice greeted him once they entered.

“Commander Hill.”

“Do I want to know why miss Johnson is with you?”

“Grant Ward was monitoring her. And I am bringing her in as an asset.”

“Ward. And you know that how?”

“We kept in touch.” Daisy shrugged. “Now. Let me have a look at your security systems. After I'm done even JARVIS will have a hard time getting in.” she said.

“That good?”

“Do you know Skye of the Rising Tide?” Daisy asked as Hill led the way to the communications center.

“We were trying to track her.” Phil said.

“How did that work out for you?”

“We never got close.” he admited.

Daisy smirked at him.

“I couldn't let anyone know it was me.” she said.

“That – oh! I knew you sounded familiar.” Phil said. “It was you.” he grinned.

“You listened to my podcasts?”

“He's a fan. Barton teased him for days about growing out of his 'Rogers crush' and into dreaming up the woman behind the voice. Or something.” Hill spoke up. “Here. You know Agent Romanoff?”

“Oh, hey, Nat.” Daisy grinned at the other woman.

Everyone in the room froze. Daisy looked around.

“Did I say something wrong?” she asked.

“No.” Nat said. “What brings you here?”

“Phil thought I could have a look at your security systems.” Daisy said.

“Based on what proof?”

“Skye of the Rising Tide.” she grinned proudly.

“That's you?” Nat asked serious.

“Yep.” Daisy sat at a computer and started working. “I met Mike, told him to look for you guys. I heard he didn't go boom, like the other patient.”

“Mr. Peterson is doing well.” Phil said from behind her.

“Didn't you have a job?” she smirked at him over her shoulder.

“Cheeky.” he smirked back, before tuning to go. “Meet you two later for lunch?”

“You're my ride home, Phil.” Daisy waved her hand. “And I won't say no to lunch. Now, let's see what I can do for you.”

It was late afternoon when Phil found the two women in one of the lounges. He sat down heavily next to Daisy and sighed.

“That bad, huh?” she said.

“Tirirng.”

Daisy hummed.

“You know, Nat and I were talking and she suggested I enrolled.” she said carefully.

“She's good. I can't hack in our systems.” Nat said.

“You _can't_?” Phil looked shocked.

“ _I_ can't and I made the bloody program!” Daisy exclaimed. “Well, ok, exagerating.”

“I'll put a word in to the Director. See if we can't make you a SHIELD agent.” Phil said.

“Thanks.”

“Will your parents be ok with that?” he frowned.

“There hadn't been an Inhuman agent before. They prefered to be isolated.” Nat said. “You becoming involved in SHIELD is going to raise objections.”

“It's not like we haven't had Gifted people as agents before.” Phil mumbled.

“But not Inhumans.” Nat shook her head.

Daisy shrugged.

“Well. The Elders can go and hung their ideas. They had tried to arrange a marriage when I went through the Mist but since that didn't happen, they won't stop me from making Agent.”

“Rebel, rebel.” Phil muttered amused beside her.

“And you promised lunch.”

Phil groaned.

“Please, don't make me sit up. That was the briefing from Hell. Had me retelling what happened with you at least three times.”

“Me?”

“Top brass thinks we should put you under protection. Again. Because I had to report Ward. The idea hasn't reached Fury yet – that's why Hill was here.”

Nat gets up and Daisy follows her. They look at each other, nod and then grab Phil and pull him up.

“You two are after my money, aren't you?”

“Well, you promised lunch. I am willing to let you treat us at the cafeteria.” Daisy shrugged.

Phil grinned a little.

 


	5. Agent Johnson

The idea to train Daisy as a SHIELD agent, was met with some discomfort from the Elders – as Daisy had expected – amd from a few of the agents – to her somewhat surprise.

Fury talked with her and her mother, Daisy talked to the Elders, and at last they agreed to her becoming a SHIELD agent.

Her supervising officer was Fury himself.

She ended up loving and admiring the man for his directness and seriousness and for managing to run SHIELD in the shadows after HYDRA. Phil gave her a knowing smirk when she told him.

“Yes, we all know how you love the man, Phil.” she teased him.

“And now you do too.” he smirked.

Daisy laughed.

“Come here!” she tackled him to the ground.

They mock-fought.

“You two kids done for the day?” an amused voice stopped them.

“Nope.” Daisy replied as she further sparred with Coulson.

“Well, the Director said to tell you playtime's over and that you two got a mission.”

“OK, we're up.” she said, getting to her feet and pulling Phil to his feet.

They both straightened up their clothes.

“You know, it's disturbing how much alike you two are.” Clint said.

“That's why we do it.” Daisy said.

“You do it to unnerve everyone.” Phil said, as they started walking to the Director's office.

“And it's working.” Clint chimed in.

“Good.” Daisy nodded. “It's not my fault you're projecting and make it easy on me.”

“Who's projecting what?” Fury asked.

“Everyone. Everything.” Daisy grinned. “What you got for us?”

“HYDRA. We found their latest hiding place. This is your first mission as a leader. Coulson, you're her second. Gather up a team and make sure you take them down.”

“Aye, capt'n.” Daisy saluted.

“We'll gather up a team, sir.” Coulson said beside her.

“Good.”

Daisy turned and left, Phil close at her heels.

“Did you just...?” Phil started.

“Make a pirate joke to Fury? Yep. You should have seen us during training.” she grinned. “He gave me all the embarassing details about your early days as a trainee.”

Phil groaned.

Clint, forgotten, was still following them.

“So...the team?” he asked.

“You and Nat got anything up?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Nope.” he said. “You want us in?”

“Well, you already had my back in the past, I trust you to do it again.” she said.

“Anyone else?”

Daisy went through the file.

“Uh...Maybe Sharon? And Trip. I like those two.”

“A six people team?” Phil asked beside her.

“Too many?” she looked at him. “It's my first. I want to be sure.”

“No. It's good. You're being careful, not taking extreme risks. And we're not too many to alert them.”

Daisy grinned at him, bumping her shoulder against his.

Phil chuckled quietly.

“I'll go gather them up.” Clint said.

“Thanks, Hawk.” Diasy smiled back at him.

He saluted and left.

Thirty minutes later, the four agents were gathering in the briefing room.

“Fury gave you your first mission?” Trip asked with a grin as he entered.

“Yep. We got a new location on a HYDRA lab, lair, whatever they call it.” she said, pulling up the location on the screen. “We go in, bust them up, lock them in and see if they have other holes they crawl in.”

“You got it, girl. How are we doing this?”

“We go in twos.” she said. “I need Barton to keep an eye for fleeing enemies, and...”

“I will enjoy doing back-end for a change.” Nat said.

Daisy smiled and nodded in thanks.

“You and Sharon go in from the front. I hope you're less known to HYDRA than me or Coulson. Which is why we go through the back.”

“If they're busy with the two in front, they won't notice us blocking their exit.” Phil nodded.

“We need to be fast; I am not leaving Trip and Sharon alone out there.”

“You'll need a unit ready to apprehend the HYDRA goons.” Clint reminded her.

“Yeah. Phil?”

“Going to ready one.” he said, squeezing her shoulder once.

Minutes later they reached the werehouse, in the outskirts of LA, and giving the signal to everyone, they took their positions.

“Ready?” she whispered in the radio. A chorus of affermatives reached her. She nodded. “Go.” she gave the order.

It didn't take them more than fifteen minutes to clear the base. It was empty, for the two bored HYDRA agents that totally fell over themselves when Daisy's team entered.

“That's it?” she asked. “I feel like I overreacted.” she said, as Nat and Clint came in and Trip and Sharon took the two out to be taken in for questioning.

“Better overreact than underreact with HYDRA.” Phil said looking through the files.

“Anything interesting in the papers?” she asked, as she and Nat started going through the computers.

Phil hummed.

“Not much?” he shrugged.

“Still we're taking them back home.” Clint spoke up.

“Hey, girl. The birds are in the cage and going straight to the aviary.” Trip walked in.

Daisy snorted.

“Thanks Trip.” she managed. “Computers are juicy. Nat?”

“Got it.” she said, taking the hard drive Daisy was handing over.

“Oh. This is bad.” Phil mumbled, looking over Daisy's shoulder and comparing it to the file in his hands.

“Yeah. Where did HYDRA learn from about the Monolith? I thought SHIELD had it under Director's eyes only?”

“We all found out after the fall.” Natasha said.

“Oh.” Daisy said softly. “Sorry.”

The redhead shook her head. Phil squeezed her shouder.

“Good thing my people's existance was known. Can you imagine the chaos?” she said quietly, a shudder running through her.

“Yeah. But that doesn't make it easier. If HYDRA knows about the Monolith and has parts of it in their possesion there's no telling what they will do.”

“Better call it in. Tell Fury to prepare for unidentified disaster.” Natasha said grimly.

Daisy nodded and raised her hand to her com.

“D? You there?”

“ _I'm here, Agent Johnson. What have you got for me?_ ”

“Two HYDRA agents, a lot of files and a potential crisis.” she hummed.

“ _What do you mean 'potential crisis' Johnson?_ ” he demanded.

“Is the Monolith safe?”

“ _It is secure. Why?_ ”

“HYDRA may know about it from the looks of it.”

“ _Damned Hell._ ” he said. “ _Wrap up there ASAP and return to HQ. Call your mother in, too._ ” he ordered. “ _This is beyond just being a shield to the world._ ”

“Aye, aye.” she said and hunged up.

“Daisy, we're ready.” Phil said.

“Alright. Team, let's head back home. The Director needs a debriefing ASAP. Things are getting ugly, guys.”

 


	6. Demons from the past

On the way to HQ, Daisy called her mother, and asked her to meet them there, as there was something dangerous concerning Inhumans they'd need her insight on.

“Explain to me how you know about the Monolith.” Fury asked Daisy.

“It's part of our history. Mum taught me.”

“And how does HYDRA connect to it?”

Daisy and Phil brought up the files they had find.

“Oh, that's worse than what you think.” he said.

“Worse?”

“Better wait for your mother. I think she hasn't told you everything and it's her story to tell.” Fury said.

Not more than twenty minutes later, Jiaying Johnson arived at the base and was escorted to Fury's office, where Daisy and Phil were waiting.

“Daisy. Everything ok?”

“Yeah. Just something that turned up on the mission. It's about the Monolith.”

“I thought you said you had it secure.” Jiaying turned to Fury.

“The Monolith is secure.” he said seriously. “HYDRA though, apparently has six pieces of it in their possesion. According to our records and what Agent Johnson here found today, HYDRA had it in its possesion for decades. At some point it was burried in Yucatan, during the late 1800s with early 1900s, and NASA found it in 2001. Project Distant Star Return was an utter failure and NASA gave us the Monolith.” Fury was saying. “Now, I don't know much about what the hell it is, but we keep it locked up in a glass case in a dark room. The damn thing turns liquid whenever it sees fit.”

“It was created by the Kree to destroy Inhumans.” Jiaying said.

Phil unconsciously, reached for Daisy's hand.

“The experiments done to humans to create Inhumans were made by a rogue fraction and the rest wanted to destroy all evidence. At some point an Inhuman of immense power was born and almost managed to rule the Earth until our people gathered and banished it through the Monolith, in hopes to destroy it.”

“It?”

“We refused its name.”

“Wait. You did a 'Damnatio Memoriae'?”

“Be serious Phil. This isn't _Teen Wolf_.”

“Well, you made me watch the show...” he shrugged. “Blame yourself if I use it's terms to understand.”

“Not exactly. We literally didn't let it say its name so we wouldn't know. I don't know if it did have a name. We didn't keep records from so far back.” Jiaying explained. “We don't know a lot about that time.”

“We need to track down all past locations of the Monolith.” Fury said. “Johnson.”

“I'll pull up a program to track down references to it. Stuff like disappearances, I suppose.”

“Get to it.” Fury ordered.

Daisy nodded and left the room.

Phil made to follow her.

“Coulson.” Fury called him back. “A word.”

“Yes, sir.”

Daisy found herself running a few programs looking for weird disappearances and/or deaths where the body or person was never found, based off on the Monolith's abilities and with Yucatan as her starting point.

“Hey girl. Where's your sidekick?” Trip entered her shared/small office.

“Trip, hey. Phil? D wanted him.”

“Daisy, the debriefing was five hours ago.” he said. “Did you eat at all?”

“Huh.” she looked at the clock. “So it was. Probably on some mission then. And no, I didn't eat. He usually pulls me away, or I pull him, for lunch.” she said.

Trip sighed.

“Come on, girl. I think we can find ourselves something to eat and some good company.”

“Bobbi's back?” she smiled.

Trip's smile widened.

“How do you always know?”

“I think I felt a shift in the vibrations earlier.” she shrugged.

“Damn.” he said in awe. “That must make the tripplets furious. You can tell them apart by vibrations, right?”

“Sam is the most heartbroken about it.” she smiled.

“Which one is Sam?” he stage-whispered, earning a laugh from Daisy. “Come on. I'll even indulge you in all that unhealthy snacks you are so keen to devour.”

Daisy grinned and got up. She followed him down to the kitchen area, where they prepared a quick meal.

“Bobbi, hey. Wanna join us?” Trip greeted the other woman as she entered.

“Sure. Haven't eaten lunch yet. Daisy, how're you doing?”

“Good. I think. I spent five hours tracking the history of the Monolith.” she cringed.

“Why? What happened?” she frowned.

“HYDRA may know more about it than us.” Trip said.

“That's a recipe for disaster.”

“The worst thing is, it's a portal where Inhumans banished a powerful Inhumna centuries ago, according to mum. And there are pieces of it missing. Fury showed us a video feed. There shouldn't be holes on it's surface.”

“So, someone from ages back managed to carve out fragments of it.” Bobbi said.

“And I'm trying to find where it had been before NASA found it in Yucatan.”

“What about the fragments?”

“Hope I chance upon them.”

They fell silent for a few moments.

“You're running solo today?” Bobbi asked.

“What? I'm with Trip. Hardly solo.”

“No. It's that rumour has it you and Coulson are joined at the hip.” she smirked.

Daisy groaned and banged her head on the table.

“Jeez. I became the talk of the rumour mill because of my partner's closeness and not of my powers. Go figure.”

“It's not so much that you became the talk as that Coulson is. He is exceptionally close to you.”

Daisy raised her hands.

“Don't look at me. I didn't do anything.”

“I'd like to be part of your team.” she said. “I want to see you in action.”

“Yeah. I'd like to work more with you, too.”

 


	7. A Hived HYDRA

It didn't take long for SHIELD to find HYDRA moving in the British countryside.

Coulson got to lead the team this time – being the more experienced agent of the team. Daisy was the first he told about the mission.

“So. HYDRA in the British countryside. Who saw that coming?” she grinned. “Castles and nobles and purebloods.”

“Got anyone for the team?”

“What are your options?”

“Our usual team?” he shrugged.

“Put Bobbi in it, too. Oh, right. Fury said you got something else to tell me.”

“Ah. Yes. I drew up a plan, to create a team, your team, with Inhumans. He seemed fine with it. You recruit Inhumans and/or gifted people. Whomever you deem should get in.” he said, handing her a case file.

“Cool.” she said. “You're my first recruit.” she smiled.

“No.” he shook his head. “I'm the handler, red-tape-wise. You need to recruit...”

“I know. But I cannot accept it if you're not my partner.”

Phil sighed.

“Yeah, ok. The Director will probably accept it.”

“Secret Warriors, huh?” she mused. “You know, there are those two who recently went through the Mist. I like them.” she nodded her head once. “I'll ask them later.”

“Good.”

Getting their team ready was easy. Getting to England, even more so. Stopping HYDRA, came with complications.

“That was unexpected.” Phil frowned.

“What? The fortified castle?”

“No. Malick.”

“ _From the Council?_ ” Sharon asked with a frown in her voice.

“Yeah.” he nodded.

Daisy suddenly cringed. Then, reached for her head.

“Daisy?” Phil asked immediately. “Hey, Daisy. Are you ok?”

“The sound...Isn't it killing you?” she asked, clearly in pain now.

“No...”

“What sound?”

“This high pitched whine. It's too loud. It's like it's trying to break my skull.” she mumbled.

“ _Uh, guys...? You won't believe this._ ” Trip said through the coms.

“What happened, Trip?” Coulson asked hurriedly.

“ _Malick just shot Ward and threw him in the portal...thing._ ” he said.

“He shot him?” Phil asked, disbelieving. “Why shot at your agent?”

“Because they're HYDRA. They don't need a reason beyond serving their agenda to take over the world.” Bobbi said. “We need to close that portal.”

“ _Yeah, good idea. There are boxes with people inside back here._ ” Sharon said. “ _I don't want to know what Malick plans to do with them._ ”

“ _Erm, guys? We got incoming._ ” Clint said. “ _Nat get, Sharon out, now_!”

“What is going on?” Daisy gritted through the pain.

Suddenly there was shouting from the far side of the castle, as HYDRA moved to counter whatever was happening. Daisy managed to stand straighter and moved with Bobbi and Phil towards the computer set, to close the portal.

“ _Malick's out!_ ” Trip called. “ _And there's something else with him. Looks like Ward survived the fall._ ”

“ _He's not the only one out._ ” Nat said.

“ _You ok, sir?_ ” Sharon asked someone.

Daisy walked over to them, Phil hot on her heels, and at the central room, they saw Nat and Sharon kneeled beside a young man, who seemed scared and disoriented.

“It's here. They brought It back here.” he was saying. “Why would they do that?”

“It?” Phil asked.

“It messes with your head.” the man said. “It killed my team, I was the last one, the only one to survive. It created sandstorms, shaped the planet so I couldn't escape. And when these people came in, I tried to warn them. The killed one of their own, offered the body to It...I followed them back through.” he said almost panicked.

“What's you name?” Daisy kneeled beside him.

“Will. Will Daniels. I was with NASA, went through the Monolith in 2001. I've been alone for such a long time, there's no sun, I couldn't tell the time anymore, not after four months.”

“Oh. You've been gone for so long, Will Daniels.” she said mournfully. “I am so sorry. We didn't know.”

“How long?”

“Fifteen years.” she said softly.

Will paused and looked down.

“So long?” he whispered.

Phil laid his hand on the man's shoulder.

“ _Guys, incoming!_ ” Trip called through the coms.

Suddenly a huge form appeared at the doorway, setting them all off on defensive stances. He was big, grey-skined with long black hair. He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily and looking straight at Daisy.

“He's Inhuman.” she said softly.

“Help me.” he said, before collapsing and switching back in his human form.

“Oh, boy.” Phil said as the human appeared. “May's not going to like it.”

“You know him?” Daisy asked, kneeling beside the unconscious man.

“Andrew Garner, psychologist. Also Melinda May's ex-husband.”

“Ex?”

“Well, between us, he's still waiting for her, but I think they failed to notice they both wait on the other.” he said, making a pained face, as if he spent hours on end listening to one or the other talk about their ex.

Daisy, easily picked Andrew up, as Nat and Sharon helped Will to his feet.

Phil ordered the rest of the agents to gather the stones and equipment, as well as the bodies of the dead Inhumans – Daisy asked, said that they give them to their families, for a proper burrial.

“What is going on?” Fury demanded.

“Just...secure these six stones with the Monolith, make sure Mr. Daniels has some medical care and Daisy, call your mother to get the Inhumans to their families.” Phil said, drained, keeping close to Daisy, his hand seemingly ready to reach out and grab her.

“What happened?” Fury asked worried.

“I promise we'll debrief in fifteen minutes.” Daisy said quietly. “We just need a few moments.”

“When you two need a few moments, I'm assuming the Chitauri are returning for revenge.” the Director said.

“Sir. It _is_ pretty bad.” Trip said, as he appeared behind them.

“ _That_ I figured. How bad is ' _pretty bad_ '?”

“We'll need to talk to Agent May before we debrief you. Or, well, Agent Coulson needs to.” he sighed.

At that moment two gurneys came through, one with a young white male, the other with one Doctor Garner.

“Oh, damn.” Fury said under his breath.

Fifteen minutes later, after Gordon took the dead Inhumans and Coulson had told May about Andrew's Inhuman status, Coulson went to give his report to Fury. Daisy staid by Will and Andrew in the medical wing.

 


	8. Lash

“Oh, Agent Johnson.” a female voice said surprised. “I thought you'd've gone to give your report to Director Fury with Agent Coulson.”

“Phil's reporting, so it's no need to repeat the same events. You're Agent Simmons, right?” Daisy smiled softly. “Are they going to be okay?”

“Yes and yes.” the young agent said with a smile. “It's Doctor Garner I am a little worried for. I understand that he was the one who...”

“Killed boxed Inhumans? Yeah. He's probably going to need help through the trauma. I fear for what HYDRA planned to do with them, too. In a way, he...” Daisy sighed. “It's going to be hard.”

“Yes.” a voice said. “I am sorry. I didn't mean to kill them.”

They both turned to look at the man.

“Doctor Garner.” Daisy went to his side. “I know. This was your first time transforming?”

“Yeah.” he closed his eyes. “I was there and I felt the need to...Oh God, what did I do?”

“Hey.” Daisy took his hand. “It's going to be ok. I'll help you learn how to control yourself.”

“Have you done it before?”

“Twice. You'll do great. The first thing you need to know is that the powers each one gets are meant to balance out each other. What did you feel when you turned into the great white?”

“All those people in those boxes...There was something dark about them. Like they did or would do something bad.” he said.

“Me?”

He shook his head.

“No. You are bright and warm and _good_.” he said.

“Then so are you. HYDRA brought something really dark from its banishment. Maybe you are what we need to counter it.”

“Lash? Something good?” he laughed bitterly. “I took away so many innocent lives. It can't be good.”

“No. But what if HYDRA used them to take over the world. What if the thing they brought back was going to use them? And what if there was no other way to stop them than by taking their lives?”

“You're too young to be so wise.” he sighed. “What's your name?”

“Agent Daisy Johnson.”

“So you are the amazing Daisy.” he said with a smile. “Phil talks a lot about you, you know. I may have expected you a little older, to be honest.”

“Why is everyone talking about me these days?” she wondered. “It's not like I did something lately.”

“Andrew.” a new voice said from the door.

“Melinda.”

Daisy reached and squeezed his shoulder.

“Phil told her.” she said softly. “I know, we should have let you do that, but it was better she learnt from a friend. You were unconscius, after all.”

“Daisy, thank you.” he said, tiredly.

She smiled.

“Anytime, rookie.”

At the door, May stoped her.

“Is he going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I'll make sure he will be. It'll take some time, but he'll learn. He'll heal. He'll need the supprort of those close to him. Being Inhuman, when you don't have any previous knowledge and connection to that part of yourself, it can be hard. It's hard even when you _do_ know, sometimes.” she told her.

“Thank you.”

“He's one of my people.” she smiled. “It's the least I can do.”

May nodded once before giving her a brief, but tight hug and then going to her ex's side. Daisy looked back and smiled at the sight of them holding hands.

Phil found her hours later at their shared office, (it was his, really, but she had claimed a corner for her and he was more than alright with that), sprawled on the sofa.

“One hell of a day, huh?” he mumbled.

“You can say that again.” she said, making room for him to sit at her feet. He complied, gathering them to his lap. “I'm thinking of bringing Joey and Elena in for the team. They'll help with Andrew, too.”

“Yeah?” he looked excited.

“You like it that I am having my own team.” she grinned.

“Then we could take both our teams on missions.” he smiled. “It'd be interesting.”

Daisy hummed.

Phil took her boots off and started massaging her feet.

“Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“What are you doing?”

“Taking care of you, of course.” he said.

“If I fall asleep here, you are carrying me to bed.” she replied.

“So be it.” he conceded.

“You're a pretty great partner, Phil.”

She could tell he was smiling.

 


	9. Team formation

From that point on, Daisy put together her Secret Warriors team, Joey and Elena her first two memebers, allowing Lincoln to join after endless arguments with the Elders, and training Andrew to learn to control Lash.

In her team she added Phil, Trip, Bobbi and Mack, just in case their enemies find a way to counter their abilities – something that Lincoln scoffed at, until Daisy told him about the frequency at England.

Phil's team consisted of Sharon, Bobbi, Natasha, Clint, Trip, Mack and herself.

“Your teams could benefit if you used Phil's team as a backup, instead of being incorporated in each others.” Fury said.

“You think?” Daisy asked. “I'm not used to not having my partner with me, sir.” she said, glancing at Phil.

“I know. You'll have to learn, though.” Fury sighed. “There'll be times when your teams won't be on the same missions.”

Daisy nodded.

“Joey Gutierrez, Elena Rodriguez and Lincoln Campbell. How would you describe them?”

“Joey and YoYo are excited to be able to help. Lincoln...he is the Elders' choice of an inside man. He doesn't like it being here. He prefers to being just a doctor. I'm worried he won't be a good team player and I can't send him back, because the Elders think I am forgetting my roots and traditions.” she rolled her eyes at that. “There's also Andrew Garner. I want him in my team, when he'll feel ready.”

“Have you told him?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And?”

“He's reluctant to believe he can do good yet.” she replied. “I'm still trainnig him. So far, he only came close to losing it when he was near Lincoln. He said he felt the urge near Joey and YoYo, too, but it was weak. He thinks it's because they are connected to me.”

“How do you mean?”

“I helped them through their transformation, sir. They were already my team, in a way.” she smiled.

“You think you can control Campbell?”

Daisy shrugged.

“He thinks we'll end up married or something. At least together in some sense. Apparently, I never got over him or something? The funny thing is, I was the one who refused the whole damn thing, when the Elders suggested it the first time.” she replied.

Phil tensed a tiny bit.

Fury raised an eyebrow at his direction and Daisy pretended to not notice.

“So, you can handle it?”

“Yeah. Come on, show some faith here.”

“That ok with your partner?”

Daisy looked at Phil.

“For the most part.” she said.

Phil sagged at her side.

“I'm sorry.” he mumbled pathetically.

“What did you do to my good eye, Johnson?” Fury asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“We're really close. It'll take some getting used to being in defferent teams.” she patted Phil's back.

“You know the rules about fraternization.” Fury said.

“What that has to do with anything?” Daisy asked. “You think we're...?” she pointed at herself and Phil. “Yeah, no. I'm not _that_ lucky.” she mumbled. “We're not like that.” she told Fury.

Fury raised his eyebrow at them.

“I got a mission for your teams. See how they run. Johnson, yours is the one in charge. See that temawork in the field. Coulson, you're running backend.”

“What's the mission?”

“Gifted, no idea if they're Inhuman or not, are attacking a park. There appeared to be a third party in the shadows, as if it was manipulating them. Track them and stop them.” Fury said. “Johnson, you are the leader in this.”

“Yes, sir.” she nodded.

Phil nodded beside her.

They left the office and walked down the corridors towards the lounge.

“So.” he started. “How do you want to go about this?” he asked.

“Clint scopes out the area. Me and my team move in, stop the people attacking and see if they're free or not.” she said. “I know, not much of a plan.” she gave him a tight smile.

“We all start from somewhere.” he said.

Daisy bumped his shoulder.

 


	10. Confrontation

“ _Police has managed to get most people to safety, but there are a few still in the park being attacked._ ” Clint said through the coms.

“ _OK. D, you and the Power Rangers are up._ ” Mack said.

“Got it, Mack.” she grinned. “Alright, guys. Time to see who's making those Inhumans attack people.”

The four of them walked into the park, Elena snapping a handcuff on an Inhuman and back each time the subdued one.

It was slow going and things went highwire when Ward stepped out of the shadows.

“ _Sir, I got eyes on Ward._ ” Trip's voice came through the coms. “ _What do we do?_ ”

“ _Daisy?_ ” Phil asked.

“Stay back. This isn't Ward.” she ordered. “This is It.”

“Oh, you can tell the difference among us and humans.” It said. “My name is Hive and I will make you a believer.”

“Yeah, no thank you. I like deciding for myself. Last time you were around, the Earth wasn't in its best days. I'll rectify my ancestors' mistake and destroy you than exile you where HYDRA can try to bring you back again.” she said.

“It's been many eons since _she_ sealed me away. You remind me of her. There is such a resemblance. Perhaps she was your ancestor. A family trait, this defiance.” he said. “But everyone can be a believer. After all, we are all the same.”

He raised his hand and it 'dusted' out, towards the four Inhumans.

“ _Daisy!_ ” a voice called through the coms, the panic too obvious for any trained agent. It could have been anyone among Phil's team.

And then nothing. She looked around her and Joey and Elena were also there looking around, trying to understand what happened.

“You two are ok?” she asked immediately.

“Yeah, chief.” Joey nodded. “You?”

“Yeah. Lincoln?” she looked around trying to find the young doctor.

“Well, it looks like we have a true believer here.” Hive said.

“Lincoln?” Daisy frowned.

“So much anger in this one, so much power. And he believes, oh he believes.”

“ _Daisy? Lash just escaped._ ” Phil said through the coms.

“Oh, fuck.” she cursed. “Joey, YoYo, get ready. You're about to meet the other member of this team.”

Sudddenly a grey-skin person with black hair came up to them.

“Hey, great white. You with me?” Daisy asked.

“Lash is hunting.” he said. “And if you want to help me, make sure no one comes between me and him.” he looked at Hive.

“Lash.” Hive smirked. “The Inhumans' almost perfect guard dog. Whose body did you take over this time? Another misguided soul, thinking you can stop me?”

“Oh, I will not stop you. I will destroy your weapons. Daisy will put you down.” Lash growled.

“And you don't get to call my friend 'misguided', parasite.” Daisy stood beside Lash.

“ _Daisy? Is everything alright?_ ” Phil asked worriedly through the comms.

“Yeah, Phil. It's gonna be alright now.”

In the fight that followed Lash, Joey and YoYo managed to stop every single Inhuman Hive had been controlling, with minimal losses, while Daisy took apart atom by atom, both the corpse of Ward and the parasitic form of Hive.

When it was all over, Daisy berely standing due to energy depletion, Lash turned to her.

“My work is done.” he said.

“Is Andrew going to be ok?”

“Andrew was always meant to be me. Or I was always meant to be him. We both were meant to be your weapon. But you never turned us into one. And that's why Andrew was able to refrain from killing. You taught him we are...humans.” the transformed man said.

“And now what?”

“Now, you let me take care of you.” Phil said.

Daisy looked behind her and saw Phil's team looking at her proudly. She smiled.

“Yeah. I'd like that, Phil.” she said softly.

Phil caught her as she blacked out.

 


	11. Moving on

When she woke up, Daisy was in a SHIELD medical facility, her parents sitting across form her, and someone holding on her right hand. She turned to meet Phil's sleeping face. She smiled.

“Daisy!” Cal called out. “You're awake.”

“Hey, dad. What happened?”

“Agent Coulson called us in, told us what happened. He made sure we helped the injured Inhumans and took the bodies of the dead.” Jiaying spoke up. “You were so brave. When you told me it was back on Earth, I brough Lash.”

“You made Andrew Inhuman?”

“No. He would become one, if he ever wanted, if the Elders ever thought he was viable candidate. I just gave him a push in which form to take. Alisha helped.”

“You told him that?” she frowned at her mother.

“Yes. I appologised for forcing him through this pain.” she said. “He took it better than his wife.”

Daisy smiled.

“How long was I out?” she wondered.

“A couple of days. Agent Coulson hasn't been asleep for more than a couple of hours since you were brought in.” her mother replied.

“Oh, Phil, you idiot.” Daisy mumbled, squeezing his hand a little.

Two people stumbled in the room.

“Chief! Oh thank God, you're awake.” Joey breathes out with a joyous relief that makes Daisy smile broadly. Right behind Elena is Mack and right behind him the rest of their kids. Bobbi had taken to calling her 'mom' after she patched them up from a mission and ordered them to eat and sleep.

A groan stopped everything.

They turned to look at Phil who was just waking up.

“Hey, Phil. Our kids were worried.” she grinned.

“You bet they were.” he rubbed his face. “Their mom ended up in the med lab uncoscious for two days.” he froze. “Daisy?” he looked up, afraid.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty.”

He snorted out a startled laugh and quickly gave her a hug from a slightly uncomfortable angle, not caring – or not noticing – their audience.

“Never, ever do that again. I don't care if you can take it. I couldn't...” he gulped heavily. “This is not something I want to keep doing without you.”

“You know I will do it again, if I have to, if I am the only one who can stop the disaster.”

“I know. And I won't stop you. But allow me this moment of selfishness to be able to say the words.” he mumbled.

Daisy chuckled and patted his head.

“Yeah, ok. For the illusion of safety; I won't do it again.” she said.

Phil pulled back and stared at her seriously, framing her face in his hands and then laying a lingering kiss on her forehead before resting his against it.

“I'll hold you to that.” he replied.

Cal coughed loudly, not liking the man's affections to his daughter.

Phil pulled back and looked t the people looking at them surprised. Then he blushed, groaned and let his face fall on the bed, beside Daisy. She laughed.

“Dad, give him a rest. You like him, after all.” she said.

“I do not.” Cal huffed. “He's too old for you.”

“I can tell you who else married someone way too old for them, Calvin Johnson.” Jiaying smiled beside him.

“That's...a valid point.” he conceded. “But I _don't_ like him.”

“What the hell is going on here?” a voice boomed out from the far back. “This is the medlab, not some lounge for social gatherings.” Fury stepped front. “Out now. Where's Simmons?”

“I sent her away.” Phil said. “Mr. Johnson is a father and he was anxious to make sure his daughter was ok.” he said. “I figured it'd be easier to let him do his job as a doctor.”

Fury sighed.

“Fine. Everyone out now. Let my agent rest some more until Dr. Johnson says she's off bedrest.” he ordered.

“She should be able to get up tomorrow.” Cal said.

“Good.” he nodded. “I expect your report tomorrow, agent.”

Everyone left as Fury turned towards the door, calling get-well-soon's to Daisy. Only Phil staid behind.

“Go rest Phil.” she said. “I won't be doing anything remotely interesting 'till tomorrow.”

“You sure you won't need me?”

“Yeah. Get started on that report before Nick loses it with both of us.”

“I was so good with the paperwork before I met you.” he mock-amended.

“I am such a bad influence.”

“Wouldn't change it.” he smiled.

And with that he left the family alone.

The next day, Daisy and Phil spent it in Fury's office giving their report of the events around the park. It was over late in the evening and by then, most of the agents and their friends had already headed out.

“Do you want to grab a dinner?” Phil asked hopefully, as they, too, headed out.

“Are you asking me out?” Daisy smirked.

“What if I am?” he asked.

“Took you long enough.” she replied, pulling him for a kiss.

“Oh.” he breathed out, a little surprised. “Sorry. Couldn't understand why you'd want me.”

“I could make a pretty long list, Phil. A pretty long list.” she told him.

He smiled and led them out, thinking about how much this meant to both of them.

(He was also fretting a tiny bit about which restaurant to take her to, because she may have said she could make a list, he still felt he needed to prove himself worthy to be with her, impress her.)

“Should I ask your dad's permission this time?” he asked.

“Nah. I think he's fine with us. After all, mum and him have the biggest age gap after Thor and Dr. Foster.” she said. “He really doesn't mind.”

“No. Not the age gap. I mean...”

“He still doesn't really mind. And besides you're taking a fellow agent out. You wouldn't ask their parents', would you?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On how serious _this_ is.” he said pointing between them. “And _this_ ,” he pointed again, “is very serious.”

“Good to know.” she nodded. “I am not getting into something less than very serious.” she told him.

He kissed her.

 


End file.
